


Clearing the Air

by Sinsilverwind



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-22
Updated: 2015-08-22
Packaged: 2018-04-16 14:05:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4628058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sinsilverwind/pseuds/Sinsilverwind
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post Love Letters, Pearl and Garnet have a talk.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Clearing the Air

Birds chirped in the distant trees behind her, free of the pain that plagued her. Pearl envied them. She could change her form all she wanted, but she couldn’t rid herself of the ache she felt. She thought she probably looked a sorry sight, sitting on the edge of a cliff, hair still wet and hanging low from the recent rain.   
“Pearl?” At the sound of Garnet’s voice Pearl stiffened, curling up tighter. “What’s wrong?” She heard the taller gem- the fusion, she corrected herself- approach, but couldn’t bring herself to turn to her.  
“I’m fine, Garnet,” she said, forcing the words past the lump in her throat. The lie would have been obvious even if they hadn’t known each other for millennia. No one who was fine left without warning for three days. Garnet sat beside her, loose and relaxed where Pearl was tightly curled, arms locked around her knees.  
“That’s not what Amethyst seemed to think.” Pearl bristled at the purple gem’s name, even as she felt like she was being stabbed.  
“So that’s why you’re here.” The words were bitter on her tongue. “I’ll apologize for snapping at her later.”   
“That’s not why I’m here. Pearl, we’re worried about you. Steven has no idea where you are or when you’ll come home, and Amethyst was starting to grow anxious before I sent her here, and she’s even more so now.”  
“And you?” Pearl regretted the words as soon as she said them.  
“I’ve been worried too, but I didn’t want to upset you more.” Pearl looked up at her, realization dawning, but Garnet continued on. “It wasn’t until Amethyst came back, saying that you’d turned into a roc when she tried to convince you to come home that I knew I had to come.”   
“You know why I’m here, don’t you?”  
“I have some idea, yes.” Garnet sighed, reaching up to remove her shades. “I didn’t mean to hurt you, Pearl. I didn’t even know you were there.” Pearl shrugged stiffly.  
“It was bad timing.” Unable to bear the guilt and concern in Garnet’s eyes any longer, she looked away. “I’m sorry, Garnet, I should have known that you weren’t interested in having a relationship. After all, Ruby and Sapphire are so perfect for each other that--”  
“Pearl,” Garnet cut her off. Pearl flinched as a hand came towards her and Garnet stilled. “So those are my options then? I’m either Ruby and Sapphire or a monster?” Pearl’s eyes widened and she whipped around to face Garnet.  
“No, no! That’s not what I meant. Only… You said that you didn’t want to go on a date with that human because, in your words, “three’s a crowd”.” Garnet reached out slowly, giving Pearl time to react, and rested a hand on her shoulder when she didn’t.  
“I said that because the children were already thinking about my nature as a fusion.” She frowned. “Pearl, who are you attracted to?” The pale gem flushed blue at the question.  
“I-I don’t…” She met Garnet’s eyes for a moment, just long enough to see them narrow at the start of her lie, and looked away with a sigh. “You, Garnet. I… I love Ruby and Sapphire too, but not… I’m not in love with them, to put it in human terms.” Out of the corner of her eye, Pearl saw Garnet smile slightly.  
“I’m glad.” Confusion overrode embarrassment and Pearl turned fully back to Garnet. “If what you said is true, then there’s no conflict.” Pearl stared at her blankly for a long moment as she struggled to make sense of what Garnet said. “I love you, too,” Garnet clarified. Pearl, if possible, blushed more at the declaration, but managed a shy smile.  
“You do?” she asked in a small voice. Garnet gently rested her hands atop Pearl’s.  
“I do,” the fusion reassured, then stilled, eyes staring past Pearl for a moment before focusing again. “But Ruby wants to make it clear that this is Garnet speaking, not her or Sapphire.” Pearl shifted her hands, lacing her fingers through Garnet’s. She could feel both of the fusion’s gems against her palms and smiled at the comfort they brought.  
“Ruby doesn’t need to worry,” Pearl replied, smile still in place. Accepting Garnet’s help to stand, the started back to the warp pad hand in hand. Only when they reached it did Pearl think of the other members of their family. “What will Steven and Amethyst think?” she asked, subconsciously gripping Garnet’s hand tighter. The fusion tipped her head down to kiss Pearl’s gem, squeezing her hand back gently.  
“Steven will be thrilled, though it will take some explaining once he remembers I’m a fusion.” Stepping onto the warp pad together, Garnet added, “and Amethyst has been expecting us to get together for centuries, and will make lewd comments the second Steven’s out of earshot.” Pearl grimaced slightly at the last part, but her momentary disgust wasn’t near enough to dampen her mood.  
“I guess seeing the future comes in handy for the more mundane things as well,” she mused instead. Garnet gave her a small smile in response before the warp pad activated.

As it turned out, Garnet’s predictions were completely correct. By the time they were alone, Pearl was sure she’d blushed more during that short time frame then she had in the past couple centuries, but as Garnet held her close, she found she didn’t mind at all.


End file.
